The Denver Broncos' floor in the 2023 NFL season will be determined by whether they're highest paid, highest profile player can pull his weight—if Russell Wilson barfs up another tragicomic lemon of a season, the team is doomed no matter what. The team's ceiling, though, relies on everybody else. Once again, the Broncos have the tools to mount a playoff run if their quarterback can gin up enough production to allow it. Although Wilson is the natural center of attention, the Broncos have sneakily amassed a collection of talented young guys who are ready to play meaningful football for the first time in their respective NFL careers—their defense goes two deep with starting-caliber players at nearly every position; their offense abounds with playmakers. As such, here's why Broncos' rising stars Baron Browning and Greg Dulcich are primed to blossom into two of the NFL's best players in the 2023 season.
Baron Browning
If you zoom all the way out and squint decently hard, Baron Browning looks a lot like Micah Parsons. Like Parsons, Browning was an uber-touted high school recruit who committed to play inside linebacker at a Big Ten powerhouse (Penn State for Parsons; Ohio State for Browning). Upon entering the NFL in 2021, though, both were bumped to the edge, where they could parlay their freakish athleticism becoming fearsome pass rushers. To be sure, Browning can't match Parson's historically great productivity; nobody can. But on a snap by snap basis, Browning does a pretty darn convincing Parsons impersonation—in 2023 (his first full year as an edge rusher), Browning hit the quarterback on 8.3 percent of pass rush attempts, the fifth best mark of the 48 linebackers with more than 100 pass rushes, according to SIS Sports.
While Browning only notched 5.0 sacks in 14 games last season, his underlying stats reveal a much rosier picture. For large stretches of last season, he was utterly unblockable. Against the Colts in Week 5, Browning registered 10 pressures on 20 pass rush attempts; his 50 percent pressure rate and 60 percent win rate represented the best single game totals since 2006, according to Pro Football Focus.
Unfortunately, Browning's ascent will have to wait. Having undergone surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his leg this month, Browning will enter training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, putting his status for the start of the 2023 NFL season. To wit, the Broncos recently signed fellow edge rusher Frank Clark, suggesting that Browning might not return to the lineup for a while. Either way, once Browning gets back on the field, offensive lineman and quarterbacks around the league will be sure to notice.
Greg Dulcich
Ever since Shannon Sharpe left after the 1999 season, the Broncos haven't gotten a ton of production from their tight ends. Outside of a pair of 12 touchdown seasons from Julius Thomas in the mid-2010s, the position has been a veritable wasteland in Denver. Greg Dulcich, the team's third round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, could be the guy to fix this. After missing the first five games of the season, Dulcich immediately showed a natural chemistry with Russell Wilson when he returned, hooking up for a 39 yard touchdown in his very first game. Moreover, Dulcich was probably the only Broncos pass catcher who shared any chemistry with Wilson. Despite starting just six games, he was third on the team in both catches and receiving yards, hauling in 33 catches for 411 yards.
To wit, Dulcich didn't merely gorge on empty calorie checkdowns. Rather, he was a legitimate downfield threat on an offense that desperately needed one—his 11.5 average depth of target was the second highest amongst all tight ends league wide, trailing just Darren Waller.
If Dulcich was so successful on Denver's disastrous 2022 offense, it's not a stretch to imagine that he could grow into an elite tight end under Sean Payton. With the Saints, Payton reimagined what is possible for a tight end—he turned Jimmy Graham from a college basketball burnout into the most terrifying red zone presence in football; he somehow made Taysom Hill a legitimately useful NFL player. In Dulcich, he has his newest muse, a 6'3, 245 pound miracle of nature who has the size and quickness to lineup anywhere on the field.
Even if Dulcich has to compete with likes of Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick and Javonte Williams for targets and touches, he's cemented his status as an important element of the Broncos' offense. In fact, Dulcich's presence is perhaps the key to unlocking the best possible version of this Denver attack. The Broncos' greatest strength on offense in 2023 is their versatility—their quarterback can run, their running backs can catch, their receivers can block and their tight end can do just about everything,
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